WE HAVE A WINNER!!!! The winner of the $25 gift cert to Kombat Soccer is....
Congratulations Troy!! You're the big winner!!
Make sure to see Nate about picking up your prize.
GOTM Winner
College Soccer - UC Davis vs St. Mary's College-CA : Friday Oct 2nd @ 4pm
This Friday the UC Davis women will go up against visiting St. Mary's College.
UC Davis(5-2-1) are coming off a strong 2-0 win this Sunday over Nevada. While SMC(6-5-0) just lost a close one to #1 Stanford 0-1, in fact 4 of St. Mary's five losses have been to top 25 ranked opponents (Colorado, Texas AM, California, & Stanford). It should be a good game for two reasons. The Aggies always get good suport from the home fans which makes the games fun to watch & St. Mary's Goalkeeper, Tara Larson, is a former Sac United & Christian Brothers Standout. She played seven years for Sac United!!
Who's up for it? I'll be there around 3:30!
Fall Evaluations
Hello eXtreme Family,
The end of summer brings many things. One of them is the second round of evaluations.
This week I will be releasing player evaluations via email.
And I hope to speak with every player at training the week after that.
And of course, contact me if you have any questions or comments.
Thanks.
Principles of Attack
Lets go over some basic principles of how we attack & the Sac United Attacking Philosophy.
The Main Focus is to Score more Goals than the other team!
- Penetration - the first choice through dribbling, shooting, passing
- Support - providing all around support for player with the ball
- Mobility - an attempt to create gaps in the defense by a variety of different runs
- Width - in order to spread out the defense and create space
- Improvisation - make the attack unpredictable through creativity
The player on the ball we call the First Attacker. The next closest is the Second Attacker & so forth.. Here the the roles for each attacker.
- 1st Attacker – penetrate, improvisation
- 2nd Attacker – width, depth, mobility
- 3rd Attacker – width, depth, mobility
Sac United Attacking Philosophy
- If we can go directly to goal, we will. (#10)
- If we can not, we will make the game wide, long, and hold on to the ball.
Penetration
Support
- The ball must have three options:
- right
- lef
- through
- a fourth option would be a stretch option - direct ball over the defense
- Call for the ball when:
- you can be seen
- eye contact – the passer looks up
Mobility
Options to the ball: right, left, through, and if possible a stretch option. Specifically;
- Present targets to support the ball.
- If covered, move. If covered middle, move down the line.
- If covered square, vacate space.
- Always look to be the third man.
Width
- We achieve width through flank players and overlaps.
- Achieve width early out of the back.
- At minimum, present wide targets.
Improvisation
- Dribble when:
- open space
- in vital area, one defender to beat and shoot
- no options (shielding)
Visual And Visual Cues
1. Eye contact between players in possession and teammates
2. Sudden burst of speed by player will act as a cue
3. Positioning and body shape of player comparison to their defender
4. Nodding of the head in the direction where you want the ball to be passed
5. Strengths and weaknesses of person on the ball
6. Run dictates pass
The final consideration when we attack is the Risk vs. Safety Issue. We want to attack, but we don't want to expose ourselves to counter-attacks or make rash decisions in the wrong part of the park. How we act depends on where we are and how much pressure we're under.
1. Attacking Third
---> More risks should be taken
2. Middle Third
----> 50/50 consideration of Safety vs. Risk
3. Defensive Third
----> Safety is the first concern
EPL - Goal of the Month - WITH PRIZES
**UPDATE: Make sure to post your favorite goal in the Comments!**
As you all should know, the EPL (English Premier League) is back and better than ever (mostly because of being sans Newcastle - sorry Troy).
The best EPL review show around is without a doubt the BBC's Match Of The Day. Every month MOTD rounds up the months best goals and sometimes awards prizes for guessing the best goal.
So I would like to inaugurate a new contest here on the BLOG. If you can guess the goal of the month, selected by the MOTD pundits, you'll win a soccer/Sac United prize.
Rules:
To enter, simply leave a comment to this post with (1) the goal # you like best (2) your first name (or nickname) so I know who it is. You can only vote once. This competition is open to the entire eXtreme family, players and parents. In case of a tie, the winner will be drawn from a hat.
The winner will be announced this weekend! So get your votes in.
So without further ado, I give you the EPL AUGUST GOAL OF THE MONTH!
Good Luck!
Great Shot = (1) Follow through (2) Land on The Striking Foot
Video Evidence
As someone once said, "The camera doesn't lie." Here is Craig Bellamy's goal from the Man Utd vs Man City game, one of the best goals scored last weekend.
If you can, I suggest putting it on full screen mode.
Especially watch the last super slow reply. It shows Bellamy swing all the way through the shot, using his whole body to accelerate his leg, following through and landing on his striking foot.
It's a very excellent goal. He even scored another in that game.
Too bad he came out on the losing side this time though huhhn....
Gotta love video evidence.
Game Notes: We should have got a much better result
eXtreme Family,
On Saturday we had the same feeling that we had after our trip to Sonoma two weeks earlier.
There was more in the game for us than we got and we had to go home with the same disappointment and of course with the feeling that we should have got a much better result considering the way the two teams played.
Having said that, to be fair to CalRush they negotiated the two turning points of the game better than us and I believe we were defensively a bit shaky. Both goals were individual efforts in which a player beat two of our defenders to get an uncontested shot on goal.
It's difficult to say whether we were naive in defense because the number of players in our backline out injured. We were not completely sharp and fresh as we can be and I felt it had an impact on our defensive concentration.
It is frustrating because we looked in control on the balance of play for large portions of the game, especially in the first half.
At the end of the day, when you concede two goals and you look at the time of possession we had and the number of scoring chances they had compared to us, it's very difficult to accept. But when you make mistakes at that level you pay for it.
We now get a very welcome two week break which will allow us to heal a bit & improve the areas of our team that need the most attention.
3 Soccer problem to work on:
- Staying connected defensively / team defensive spirit / attacking the ball
- Speed of play in midfield
- Attacking Phase of play
Next game vs. Rage! Let start getting psyched now.
One For The GK's
I don't give enough love to GK's with all these video post.
So by popular demand... Here is video evidence of a GK preserving a game for their team. It comes courtesy of the Champions League this past week.
Panna! Goalkeeper vs. Defender
Here is Football Club Internazionale Milano's GK Julio Cesar* in a possession practice pulling a sweet panna on Italian National Team defender Marco Materazzi.
* Please keep in mind he is Brazilian.
Reminds me of Bravo - she won her 1v1 line soccer group Thursday night.
5 Best Playmakers
Here is terrific list of the games best play makers.
The players who know where everyone is at all times, who know every angle, every type of pass & when to play it.
It is always a joy to watch a great playmaker at work.
Who would be in your top 5?
Show Off! Best Skill From Mid-Week Champions League
Marseille’s Mamadou Niang shows us how to beat two Italian defenders. Answer: With some skill.
Enjoy.
What it takes: Sac United Player Template
At Sac United, we strive to maintain our reputation for playing attacking, attractive soccer. This is at the heart of everything that we do and believe to be successful, all our players have to have the ability to dominate the 1v1 situation.
Success in 1v1 situations comes from a combination of four aspects of soccer: Physical Ability, Technical Skill, Tactical Awareness, & Mental Strength.
Through dedication, perseverance and time spent on your own these aspects can be molded into that of a top player.
Play & Watch soccer to gain tactical awareness. Spend backyard time so your dribble moves get sharp. Find a wall and smash 100 shots with right and 100 with your left then hit the grass and do some sprints. Compete at everything.
Practicing at home, on your own, builds the Mental strength you'll need to get to the top and stay there because you will confident in in every 1v1 situation.
One Club! One Love!
Sac State Women: Friday @ 4pm
Sac State Women play today @ 4pm.
If you can, go early to watch them warm-up, see how the prepare, and watch then complete.
Today they play local rivals Pacific.
If you can't make it today, there are plenty of great opportunities coming up.
Practice Schedule Update
All Trainings will be at Granite Regional Park.
New Training Schedule:
M: 7-8:30pm @ Granite
W: 5:30-7pm @ Granite -- Technical Training
W: 7-8:30pm @ Granite -- Goalkeeper Training
TH: 7-8:30pm @ Granite
How Two Players Can Beat A Whole Team
ALL ONE TOUCH PASSES!
These two who help score Italy's second goal, Alberto Gilardino & Vincenzo Iaquinta, don't play on the same team during the season. They can combine this way because they both play & practice at a high level every week and know the game. If you know the game you can play with anyone.
An Absolutely Amazing Goal!
Weekend Review: Sonoma County Classic
eXtreme Family,
Overall I would like to keep the positives of the weekend because I believe that we can deal well with the disappointment of placing second. We have a great future and we can be a real force. But of course, it's difficult to accept going home from a tournament with second prize after going undefeated & beating the tournament winners 3-1.
Soccer is unpredictable but I believe in this team. We lack some calmness and experience at times, but the spirit to compete in this group is good.
I am extremely proud of our defensive record. Played four games, gave up two goals reflects our much improved defensive spirit.
In the coming weeks we will continue to work, train & prepare those aspects of our game that need sharpening as well as bolstering our strengths.
We can now focus our sights on the Fall League & the NorCal State Cup.
I look forward to an exciting Fall.
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